noun
definition
One who is degenerate, who has fallen from previous stature; an immoral person.
example
In the cult of degenerates, acts of decency, kindness and modesty could be seen as acts of apostasy.
verb
definition
To lose good or desirable qualities.
example
His condition continued to degenerate even after admission to hospital.
definition
To cause to lose good or desirable qualities.
Examples of degenerates in a Sentence
After his abdication Northumbrian history degenerates into a record of dynastic murders.
As we climb the escarpment onto the plateau the dirt road degenerates into a couple of wheel ruts.
A salivary gland degenerates when its nerve-supply is cut off; and the nerves leading up to the symmetrical sloughs in Raynaud's disease have been found in an advanced state of degeneration (Affleck and Wiglesworth).
Beyond Utrecht, where it is again diminished by the divergence of the Vecht to the Zuider Zee, the river under the name of the "Oude Rijn," or Old Rhine, degenerates into a sluggish and almost stagnant stream, which requires the artificial aid of a canal and of sluices in finding its way to the sea.
There has been a longcontinued discussion, which between buyer and seller sometimes degenerates into a dispute, on the subject of moisture in yarns, and the difficulty is not confined to the Lancashire industry.
The simplest form is 3 - a 3 in this case the serpentine position shown in the figure degenerates into a point of inflexion.
It is not uncommon in popular writings to attribute this superiority to a crusader strain - a theory which no one can possibly countenance who knows what miserable degenerates the half-breed descendants of the crusaders rapidly became, as a result of their immoral life and their ignorance of the sanitary precautions necessary in a trying climate.
As the ellipse degenerates into the straight line joining its foci, the contracted parts of the unduloid become narrower, till at last the figure becomes a series of spheres in contact.
Indiana has an habitualcriminal law, and a law providing for the sterilization of mental degenerates, confirmed criminals, and rapists.
Next is a brief transitional phase (of about three weeks' duration)-the catagen phase-during which the hair follicle degenerates.
However, it creates friction with older siblings that often degenerates into kicking, hitting, punching, pinching, and even biting.
In young birds both oviducts are almost equal in size, but the right soon degenerates into an insignificant strand.
Of course a discussion as to the mere application of a word easily degenerates into the most fruitless logomachy.
A salivary gland degenerates when its nerve-supply is cut off.
On the other hand, in some neurons, after severance of the axon from the rest of the cell (spinal motor cell), the whole nerve cell as well as the severed axon degenerates, and may eventually die and be removed.
Acuteness degenerates into hair-splitting and clever plays on words after the manner of the rabbins.
Usually a light loam, it passes here and there into pure clay, or degenerates occasionally into barren sand.